Johnny Be Good

Just three years after "The Breakfast Club", this film reunites Michael Anthony Hall and Paul Gleason. It aims to achieve the irreverent humor of a film like "Stripes" combined with the titillation of "Porky's". Almost every character in this film is a caricature. You can tell a lot of people put a lot of work into this film, so where does it go wrong?

First, the film's primary story--about a football phenom who is unscrupulously recruited by every powerhouse program in the country--is a serious drag on the humor. There is nothing funny about the sacrifice of educational values to the football money machine.

Secondly, the film tries to include every standard feature of every youth comedy film--the clueless adults, the topless scenes, the humor centering on sex and alcohol--and in so doing, becomes a parody of itself.

I am deducting one point just for the colossal waste of talent.

Robert Downey Jr. is wasted here, playing the wacky sidekick. Uma Thurman's performance as the hometown girlfriend is lost in the silliness.

The entire film is predictable, sometimes cringe-worthy, and boring.

In a scene near the end of the film Hall, Downey and Thurman drive off in a convertible to begin their post-high school lives and there is a sense of what this film could have been: an interesting exploration of the lives of three kids who have issues to face and things to learn. It might even have been funny, too.

I'm surprised at the negativity. It's a great dumb comedy with a tiny bit of morality thrown in. The recruitment tactics may not be an exaggeration of reality - trying to schmooze the all-American QB.

How is it possible that Yes Man averages a 7 out of 10 and this movie is a 4.? Yes Man was barely watchable.

The cast was perfect and the movie probably wouldn't have worked without them. Robert Downey Jr.'s character is so disturbed and hilarious. It seems to be a carryover from his role in Back to School. Which is another great 80's comedy. Uma Thurman is so cute in one of her first acting roles. Paul Gleason plays is a-hole character to perfection.

Maybe I am just old enough to still love the John Hughes-style high school comedies of the 1980's. This isn't the best of breed, but definitely worth enjoying.

This film has two main things going for it - nostalgia and the ability to fantasize about having Uma Thurmann as your girlfriend in 1988. There are many fantastic shots of her in all measure of garb, including a wonderful body-length pajamas. Lots of nice white tops and jeans. Phew and Rowrrrrr.....

Anthony Michael Hall is an actor I decided I liked after all in his later career when he played Bill Gates in Pirates of Silicon Valley. He's got a measured confidence mixed with some menace underneath that all-american blonde facade. Despite what some might some might say about Hall's depth, he is about the only thing saving this movie from absolute disaster.

I actually found Robert Downey Jr to be mostly insufferable in this film, and its very early for him, but he isn't given a lot to work with. He does have a few good lines, though.

Structurally, this movie has a lot of problems. The plot is insanely thin, and it sort of purports to a certain amount of morality, but then it does not a lot to support that assumption. It lays out Hall's character compromise of his character in such an extreme, laughable manner, it's pretty hard to take it seriously. It's a movie that is sort of making fun of itself, or maybe the director and actors are mocking the script. It's got that feel of not being taken super seriously, something that happened quite a bit in the 80s and made for some charming fare, but also made for some not cogent films. The production values and soundtrack are good, however. The music is period, and well curated, but featuring lesser known tracks, not all well-known hits. I also always like seeing the uncluttered life of the 1980s, no cel phones, still a certain amount of neon, nice 1970s and 1980s cars, and the general party atmosphere of the time.

As I said, however, the number one reason to watch this is for Uma Thurmann. The one realistic thing about this movie is that in real life, this guy probably would be stupid enough to lose Uma Thurmann. Of course in real life, he never would have been dating her in the first place.

Not the best movie I've ever seen but a good coming of age comedy. Repeat comedy. Some people might not like this movie but I thought it was good. If you like movies in general and can deal or like the 1980's and early 1990's era movies you'll enjoy this.

If you like the Breakfast Club or any of the Brat Pack era movies you'll like this. It also has some good football scenes but only a few short ones so those that hate football can manage through them.

Basically this movie is about college recruiting of a star high school football quarterback. He struggles with the moral question of does he go to the flashy money schools or the one where he might get an education. In the mean time his family, coach and friends all fall victim to college recruiters.

Not a good movie for young children due to sexual overtones, drinking, etc. Men and women should both enjoy this movie.

My favorite scene is early in the movie with Johnny in his room playing the drums with the TV and stereo going. I could really relate to this scene from my high school years. I measure movies by the question of, would I be disappointed if I had paid $10 to see it at the movie theater. This one exceeds the grade. Enjoy.

Lame sports comedy with a miscast Anthony Michael Hall as the hottest high school football prospect who ever lived. It's really a vanity project for Hall, who had been playing nerd characters his whole career. Here he's trying to buff up and be taken seriously as something more than a geek. He fails. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the wacky best friend, as he often did back then. Downey's the most entertaining part of this, which isn't saying much. Decent support from Paul Gleason and Jennifer Tilly. Early role by Uma Thurman. She's beautiful and does fine in a worthless part in a worthless movie. I pretty much hated every minute of this. Almost every character is unlikable, especially the lead. The satire about college sports and other things is heavy-handed and never funny. Oh, and the music is dreadful. Avoid this unless you are a massive fan of Hall, Downey, or Thurman.